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RISE IN SAFETY VEHICLE NUMBERS
21 February 2007 - Bosch
MORE AND MORE VEHICLES WITH ESP® ON BOARD
· Share of newly registered vehicles equipped with ESP® rises to 42
percent in Europe · Share has already reached 75 percent in Germany The number of vehicles equipped with the ESP® anti-skidding system
(electronic stability program) rose once again last year: according to a
market analysis by Bosch, the active safety system featured in 42 percent
of all vehicles registered for the first time in Europe in the first half
of 2006. The biggest increase was recorded in Spain, where the share
climbed from 41 to 49 percent, followed by the UK, where the share rose
by six percentage points to 42 percent. In Germany, the share increased
from 72 to 75 percent in the first six months of 2006. ESP® counteracts
skidding in vehicles, keeping them safely on track. As in previous years, however, only a small share of buyers choose ESP®
as optional equipment when purchasing a car. The reason why the share of
vehicles equipped with ESP® still continues to rise is the increasing
number of compact-class models sold outside Germany that feature the
system as standard equipment. In the high-volume small car segment, by
contrast, this active safety system hardly features as standard equipment
anywhere in Europe, and is not available as an option in all models.
Herbert Hemming, Executive Vice-President in the Bosch Chassis Systems
Control division, believes that more action is needed here: ''Especially
small cars are often driven by novices or young families. At the very
least, therefore, the objective here must be to make ESP® available as an
option in all these models. When they buy their next car, it is essential
that buyers stay on the safe side and choose a model with ESP®.'' Studies showing the effectiveness of ESP® have prompted bodies such as
GDV, the central federation of the German insurance industry, Thatcham,
the British motor insurance repair research center, and Folksam, the
Swedish insurance company, to call for all new vehicles to be fitted with
ESP® as standard equipment. They are especially critical of the fact that
the active safety system still does not feature at all in many models, or
is only available as part of a package of other extras. It is felt that
this deters the cost-conscious buyers of small cars from purchasing
models equipped with the safety system. The United States has already gone a step further. The National Highway
Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) plans to make ESP® a mandatory
feature of all new cars by the end of 2011. The Bosch Group is a leading global manufacturer of automotive and
industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. In fiscal
2006, some 260,000 associates generated sales of 43.7 billion euros. Set
up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as ''Workshop for
Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering,'' the Bosch Group today
comprises a manufacturing, sales, and after-sales service network of some
300 subsidiaries and more than 13,000 Bosch service centers in over 140
countries. The special ownership structure of the Bosch Group guarantees its
financial independence and entrepreneurial freedom. It makes it possible
for the company to undertake significant up-front investments in the
safeguarding of its future, as well as to do justice to its social
responsibility in a manner reflective of the spirit and will of its
founder. A total of 92 % of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is
held by the charitable foundation Robert Bosch Stiftung. The
entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by Robert Bosch
Industrietreuhand KG. Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.
www.boschautoparts.co.uk
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